Tuesday, May 22, 2012

How Writing is Like House Hunting: My wish list includes open concept, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops…

“My wish list includes open concept, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, undercounter sink, glass tile backsplash, walk-in pantry, real hardwood floors. I want four bedrooms, three-and a half baths, en suite master bedroom with two walk-in closets. Three-car garage, walk-out finished basement for a man-cave and media room. Large deck for BBQs on an acre of fenced land. All for $150,000. We’re 23-years-old and have been working for a year and deserve to have everything we want….”

I admit it. I watch too much HGTV, especially a crazy little show called “House Hunters.” I don’t know what it is, but I am fascinated the expectations people have when shopping for their dream house…and what they believe is possible on a limited budget. What it reminds me of, I suppose, is myself and my original expectations about writing and having a writing career. How much easier I thought it would be.

On “House Hunters,” the real estate agents do a lot of whispering to the camera about how their clients need to face reality and adjust their expectations. They have a lot to learn about leaky plumbing, lurid paint colors, and the freeway view from the back deck. Deciding to write includes similar wake-up calls. Sure, when we see books from the James Patterson Factory on the best seller list week after week, we think, “I can do this. I write better than that. These stories are trite.” And “That’s where I want to be, selling book after book, and raking in the dough.” But, writing, even not so good writing, has its challenges, its requirements, its reality.We are all naïve to a certain point when we begin a new adventure, whether it’s searching for a new place to live or deciding we want to be a writer. What we see in the distance is our “dream house” or our “dream career,” and we think—hope—it’s as easy as it looks.

Instead of leaky plumbing, we writers discover we have leaky brains. What we thought was a great idea while it was bouncing around in our head, drips out on the computer screen one annoying drop at a time. Those childhood memories that felt complete and poignant when we were mowing the lawn and smelling the freshly-cut grass evaporate when your fingers are on the computer keys. And then there are all the REAL LIFE interruptions rumbling day and night all around you.

But does this mean you can’t write, can’t have a career, can’t learn and grow and gain great satisfaction from putting words on paper? As anyone will tell you who has looked for the ideal apartment, lusted for a dream house, it takes time, patience, and compromise. You may not get the exact home you dreamed about, but through your daily presence in a house, becoming acquainted with its quirks, practicing your handy-man skills, learning about what works and what doesn’t work, talking with experts, remodeling, finessing, you can turn a house into what you want, you can make it yours. The same is true of writing.

It’s important to have dreams and desire about what we want to achieve as writers. It is important to strive and grow. We transform ourselves as we write because that’s what writing does to us, for us. It allows us to observe life, ponder its circumstances and its realities, and communicate our understanding to others. This, like creating a home, takes time and patience. We make mistakes, we adjust, we learn, we ask questions, we grow. And maybe, just maybe, our dreams will come true.

Rattle of Want

Pomegranate Stories

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FEAR

Fear freezes creativity. Failure cracks the ice. You can let yourself slip into the cold water or you can grapple for purchase and scream for help until you are once again donning your ice skates and cutting an elegant figure-eight. -Gay Degani

What is Flash Fiction?

Flash fiction is to traditional short stories what lightning is to a storm… Thunder, rain, sleet, wind and lightning are all part of the excitement of a full blown nor’easter or afternoon thunderstorm. The rush of hard rain opens our eyes; its steady drum on the roof soothes us until that first roll of thunder raises our pulse; lightning makes us anticipate and 1-2-3 count. Then rain again and we wait for another loud crack, more electrical fireworks, the clouds to clear, the skies to blue. A good storm is filled with promise, surprise, fear, suspense, relief, joy, and sometimes sadness. So is a good story. -Gay Degani

And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.
~Shakespeare